Two hours ago, in Radiant Garden:
"Why the Enterprise?" asked Dilan. He and his fellows stood outside the castle, surveying the Gummi ship Cid had just dropped off. The main body of the ship was a disc-shaped module that was separated into four quarters; the forward-facing or 'aft' quarter was the 'bridge' or cockpit, the 'port' quarter was the bathroom, the 'starboard' quarter was the kitchen, and the rear-facing or 'stern' quarter was the sleeping quarters. In the middle of the disc was an elevator–a pneumatic lift, to be precise–that gave access to the cylindrical fuselage that hung under the disc; this section housed the laboratory, a cargo hold, the launching bay for the Teeny ships, and the airlock/decompression chamber. Attached to the stern of the fuselage were two more cylinders that housed the engines.
"Because it is synonymous with endeavor, project, or venture, and seemed a fitting name for a vessel dedicated to a singular undertaking such as this," explained Even. "Also, Mr. Highwind insisted that we give it a name before he started designing it so that he could, in his own words, 'make sure the ship fit the name', and I didn't feel like walking all the back to the castle to consult the rest of you, so I made a judgment call."
"I like it," remarked Ienzo.
"It certainly sounds professional," added Aeleus.
"It'll do, I suppose," Dilan admitted, "But I would have named it Draconis Major, or something with flair. A good ship should have a name that inspires awe. I don't know about you lot but I don't find 'the Enterprise' particularly awe-inspiring. Oh well, let's have a look inside, shall we?"
The four Apprentices boarded the Gummi ship and stepped onto its bridge. Dilan immediately seated himself in the chair in the middle, since it was obviously the Captain's Chair. He propped his lance next to the chair and began administering orders. "Even, you're First Officer and Chief Scientist–obviously–and Aeleus, you're at the engineering console. Ienzo, you have the Com. I assume Tron can handle navigations, communications, and weapons systems?"
"Certainly," said Ienzo as he and the others took their stations. He slotted a flash drive into the computer and began uploading Tron into the ship's mainframe.
"Then give us Warp-speed for Mysterious Tower," Dilan ordered, leaning forward and propping his chin on his fist.
Beat.
"Shouldn't we load up our supplies, first?" asked Aeleus.
"…yes…and thank you for ruining the moment," groaned Dilan as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
An hour later, the RGG Enterprise shot off into Interspace before blue-shifting into Warpspace, leaving a solid line of light behind.
Presently:
There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky. And in that sky, each world appears to the others as nothing more than a distant twinkling star. From such a distance, each world seems miniscule and insignificant, but the overwhelming multitude of worlds is undeniable to those who know what those stars really are. Anyone else feeling a sense of déjà vu?
One such world is Twilight Town, which is unique in that it lies precisely in the middle of the Realm of In-Between, exactly halfway between the Realms of Light and Darkness. It is for this reason that the great sorcerer and retired Keyblade Master, Yen Sid, chose this world to anchor his Mysterious Tower, as it afforded him an ideal vantage point from which to observe both realms. To scry the stars and survey the worlds while keeping an eye out for encroaching darkness.
Master Yen Sid had enjoyed a long and incredible career as a Keyblade Master, one too fantastic and unbelievable to be elaborated upon here, and even in his retirement he had kept himself busy by delving deeply into the most masterful mysteries of magic. Among other great feats, he had trained a Keyblade wielder who would go on to marry a princess and become one of the most proactive and influential people in all the worlds. He also trained Mickey Mouse. Ha-ha, subversion!
Anyways, Yen Sid had been enjoying his retirement until he had noticed some strange creatures that, though borne of pure Darkness, were not the Heartless and yet were running amok through the Realm of Light. Fearing for the safety of the Princesses of Heart, he had thought to warn his old friend Master Eraqus. Next thing he knew, Eraqus was dead, one of his pupils was possessed by Master Xehanort who had gone full-on Sith Lord, another pupil was MIA in the Realm of Darkness, and the third pupil was locked in seemingly-endless sleep in a room somewhere in Castle Oblivion that only the second apprentice could possibly find. In short, everything was completely FUBAR, to use the military vernacular.
That had been almost twelve years ago, and while Yen Sid had certainly felt bad about the situation, he was sure his former apprentice, Keyblade Master King Mickey Mouse of Disney Castle, would be able to handle things. Besides, in his day Yen Sid had already saved the worlds a gazillion times; now it was his turn to rest and take it easy, though he was resigned to the fact that he would probably be interrupted many times by young adventurers seeking wise counsel and probably also magical items to aid them on their own quests in the years to come. Such was the fate of a retired hero.
Then, several months ago, Mickey had guided a young new Keybearer, Sora, to his tower, and Yen Sid had done his duty. He'd dropped some serious knowledge on the boy, had some fairies magick him up some fancy enchanted duds to help him along, and pointed him down the path. But then, during Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam, which Mickey had convinced him to administer, Yen Sid had received a rude wake-up call when he realized just how serious Xehanort was about the whole Sith Lord thing. He realized that if the worlds were going to stand a chance, he'd have to skirt a little closer to coming out of retirement. This was how Yen Sid found himself training two new Keyblade wielders while Mickey was catching up on things back home and Sora and Master Riku were doing their part to prepare for the Next Big Adventure.
Lea and Kairi faced each other on the grounds outside the tower; both were breathing heavily, their clothes were scuffed up, and they both sported more than a couple of bruises. They had been sparring under Yen Sid's watchful eye for the last hour, and they were both 'feeling the burn' as it were. "You're…getting…better…Squirt," Lea wheezed, trying to ignore the sting from a lucky shot to his ribs. It was true, too. Kairi had been his sparring partner for six weeks now, and the first time he had beaten her easily. But she had grown by leaps and bounds, and now most of their matches ended in a draw; sometimes she even won, though he insisted it was just the law of averages at work.
It helped that, although she only had a teeny-tiny bit more experience with the Keyblade than he did, she didn't have to completely unlearn and reinvent her fighting style. Lea had been using his chakrams for ten years, so adapting to his new Keyblade was slowing his learning curve. Even so, he was still stronger and faster than Kairi, and he had more endurance, reach, and combat experience than she did as well. He had quickly discovered that she was incredibly crafty and had guts to spare, and her natural talent and raw tenacity were nothing to sneer at, either. He also remembered that, as Axel, he had given her what you might call a bit of a hard time, so on top of wanting to catch up to her friends she likely had that motivating her as well. She certainly seemed to enjoy hitting him more than someone with a 'pure' heart should, he thought.
"You're…not half…bad yourself…Urchin," she admitted, her shortness of breath caused by relative lack of stamina rather than taking a bad hit. "Next one decides it?" she suggested. Lea nodded. The two trainees took another second to compose themselves, and then readied their Keyblades for the final exchange. Without warning, Lea blurred forward, hoping to quickly knock Kairi down with a wild lightning-fast swing. He moved so fast his vision tunneled…
And he realized he'd goofed when Kairi smirked and slid to the side, into his blind spot. He tried to skid to a halt and go defensive but it was too late. He felt the crack of Destiny's Embrace falling on his shoulder and bit back a howl of pain as he sank to his knees. "Game, set, and match, Mr. Axel," said Kairi with all the good cheer of a cat who'd just caught her mouse. Then, because she was such a nice girl, Kairi cast Cure on him…or she meant to, anyways. Since beginning her magical training, Yen Sid and the Three Good Fairies had discovered that Kairi had an unfortunate tendency to get her spells mixed up. So while she said, "Cure!" she actually wound up casting Aero, creating a mini-whirlwind that shot Lea into the air. He landed in a heap in a nearby blueberry bush, and Kairi ran over with a genuinely horrified expression. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry, Axel!" she moaned, grabbing his arm and helping him to his feet.
"That's Lea," corrected Lea for what felt like the billionth time. He brushed leaves and twigs off of his arms, but found that he was just smearing blueberry stains all over his hands and clothes. "Great. Now I could use a Potion and a bath."
"Sorry," said Kairi, looking like she almost wanted to cry.
"Stop it!" Lea begged, shielding his eyes with his hands, "I can't stand watching Cute Things turn into Sad Things! If you're really sorry, then smile; that'll make me feel a lot better." He opened his fingers to expose a single green eye, which he made spin around in circles, and then he stuck his tongue out at her and blew a raspberry. Kairi giggled involuntarily. Lea lowered his hands and smiled, "There, much better. Now, maybe you should spend less time getting revenge on me for my five-second career as a kidnapper and more time practicing your spellcraft? On the other hand, maybe you've got something here. Maybe, if you whoop me badly enough while misfiring magic all over the place when we face off with Xehanort, he'll laugh so hard that everyone else can rush him while his guard is down." Kairi started laughing harder. "Yeah, this could work," Lea continued, "After you hit me in the stomach so hard I throw up, you could try casting Blizzard but hit me with Zero-Gravity instead, make me float upside down so my coat falls down and Xehanort gets an eyeful of my Moogle-print boxers. Heck, I betcha Isa would even start laughing." Kairi fell to her knees, clutching her sides. Lea started chuckling, but was quickly reminded of his bruised ribs. "Hey, Squirt, think you could get me that Potion, pretty please?"
Kairi tried to get her breathing back under control and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Yeah, sure thing Axel," she said, dismissing her Keyblade and running back to the tower.
"That's Lea!" he shouted after her. Sighing, he gently lowered himself to sit in the grass and, since they were there and he was kind of hungry, he started snacking on blueberries. He felt the wind pick up and heard a roar overhead, and looked up to see a Gummi Ship coming in for a landing. "Well…this ought to be interesting," he said with an excited grin.
Ten minutes later, in Yen Sid's study:
"Kay…so, since I'm the only one here who knows everyone, I guess introductions are on me?" Lea asked rhetorically. Yen Sid had magicked away his desk and replaced it with a large round table to accommodate his guests. To the esteemed sorcerer's right sat Flora, Fauna, Merriweather, and Kairi. To his right sat Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo. Lea sat across from him. "Okay, so…here goes," he took a deep breath, and then started talking very quickly, pointing as needed, "Dilan, Yen Sid; Yen Sid, Dilan. Flora, Dilan; Dilan, Flora. Dilan, Fauna; Fauna, Dilan. Merriweather, Dilan; Dilan, Merriweather. Dilan, Kairi; Kairi–"
"I think we all know who Dilan is by now," Merriweather interrupted.
"Well sorry, I've never had to introduce a bunch of people before," Lea snapped, "Now, let me try again. Ahem." He swept his hand to his left, "The old dude's Yen Sid, the blue fairy is Merriweather–but not, you know, the Blue Fairy–the pink fairy is Fauna, the green fairy is Flora, and the redhead is Kairi." Next he swept his hand to his right, "The guy with the braids is Dilan, the one with the cheekbones is Even, the one with the bristly hair is Aeleus, and the one with the bangs is Ienzo." He lowered his arms and said, "There. Does everybody know everybody now?" Kairi raised her hand. Lea groaned and palmed his face. "Yes, Kairi?"
"Well…okay, so we know their names now, but who are they?" she asked.
"Oh. Right. Heh," said Lea awkwardly, "Well…they're my friends from Hollow…sorry, I mean Radiant Garden."
"What he's too embarrassed to say is that we're his former colleagues from the now-defunct Organization XIII," added Dilan. He didn't fault Kairi for leaping up to her feet and summoning her Keyblade, nor did his fellows.
"Kairi, be still," ordered Yen Sid. "They are Nobodies no more; they are the Others of Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion, just as Sora is the Other of Roxas and you yourself are the Other of Naminé. They are not our enemies."
"Oh. Sorry," she said, dismissing her weapon and bowing her head apologetically. She'd never met any of those Nobodies, but she had heard of them from Sora and Riku. But really, it was just the mention of the Organization that had put her on edge. She returned to her seat and, just to be polite, asked them, "So, what brings you guys here? Just visiting Lea?" Just then, some of Yen Sid's broomstick-minions marched in and served everyone barley tea. Dilan refrained from wrinkling his nose–he much preferred ginseng–but drank it to be polite.
"Well, actually, we were going to ask him if he wanted to help us with something," said Ienzo.
"Oh yeah?" asked Lea, leaning back in his seat, "Like what?"
"Well, you remember Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene, right?" Even asked rhetorically. They weren't exactly forgettable characters. Well, Luxord might be forgettable to some, but not if you've ever been on the receiving end of losing a bet to him.
"Yeah, what about…you're going to look for their Others, too, aren't you?" Lea asked.
"Indeed," confirmed Aeleus, "We have decided to find them and assess their conditions, and offer them whatever help we can with acclimating to their recompleted selves."
"It is a valid concern," remarked Dilan, "Seeing as some people apparently react to recompletion by staring at a wall for a month or two." Even shot him a withering glare, but Dilan just chuckled and elbowed him. Even shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess you've got a…oh…oh, damn," muttered Lea, seeming suddenly preoccupied with thought.
"What is it?" asked Ienzo,
"I just realized. Marluxia and Larxene. Oh, man, they are not going to be happy about this."
"Why not?" asked Dilan.
"Because…wait, didn't any of you know? No, I guess not. Well, the whole reason behind their little attempt at a coup was because they didn't want their hearts back. Figured they were better off un-feeling."
"How do you know that? Did they really share something so personal with you during your brief stint as their cohort?" asked Even.
"Heh, no. But remember, Isa…" Lea stopped and frowned, "that is, Saïx and I, we were planning a coup of our own, and we did a lot of snooping and spying and eavesdropping on the rest of you. And, you know, when I was Axel I had some pretty sneaky underlings," said Lea with a smirk.
"So, you've decided to seek out the recompleted forms of your former allies," Yen Sid summarized, "And you've thought to seek out a Keybearer to aid you?"
"Yes," said Dilan, "Lea is the logical choice, all things considered."
"Well, shucks guys, I'm glad you thought of me but…I'm still in training, you know?" said Lea.
"You've made tremendous progress in the short time you've been training," said Yen Sid, "And you're not the kind who can flourish in cloisters; some time in the field might actually benefit you at this stage."
"You really think so?" asked Lea. He gave it some thought, and then grinned wildly. "Alright then! You guys can count me in; time to see what I can actually do with this bad boy," he said as he summoned his Keyblade.
"Hold up! Can I go with them, too, Master Yen Sid?" asked Kairi, jumping out of her seat again. She'd been training here for over a month now, and aside from brief excursions to Twilight Town she hadn't gone anywhere. She was getting stir-crazy.
To her disappointment, Yen Sid shook his head. "As a Princess of Heart, we must keep you safe until the time of the fated clash between the seven lights and thirteen darknesses. If you leave, Xehanort is certain to find out, and he will send his minions to apprehend you. In fact, having you in their company may in fact put these travelers in peril."
Kairi sat back down and gave a long dejected sigh, and then nodded, "Understood, sir."
"Hey, chin up, Squirt," said Lea as he stood up. "I'll bring you a souvenir from every world I visit, okay?"
Kairi smiled half-heartedly, but gave him a firm nod of approval. "Okay. You're alright, Axel."
"That's Lea!" whined Lea, laughing.
"Sorry, did you say something?" asked Kairi with a cheeky grin.
"Okay, that's it. Now, I'm not going to miss you at all," Lea said with a huff. Then he smiled and ruffled Kairi's hair, getting an indignant squawk out of her. "Well, let's get out of here then. I don't wanna stick around and watch Kairi break down in big old baby tears."
Kairi glared at him and folded her arms. "You'd better get a lot stronger while you're gone, or I'm really going to thrash you when you get back."
Lea bowed respectfully to Yen Sid, who inclined his head in kind, and thanked him again for his help and guidance. Then he started to lead the Apprentices towards the door. "I'll be looking forward to it, Squirt," he called back, raising a peace sign without looking back. Not for the first time, Kairi wondered why she had to be surrounded by friends who were cooler than her. It was giving her a complex.
It took Lea less than five minutes to grab what he needed out of his room, and then he met the others out on the grounds where the Gummi Ship was parked. As he stepped aboard, he found his eyes magnetically drawn to where Even sat, jotting something down in his notepad. He just as quickly averted his eyes, deciding that now wasn't the right time. As he crossed the passenger hold to set down his rucksack, Dilan frowned at him from his captain's chair. "Lea, do you have to wear that coat? It's been months; surely you've procured other garments by now?"
"Would it sound crazy if I said I felt the need to have something to remind me of where I've been?" asked Lea. Dilan raised an eyebrow, so Lea resigned himself to elaborating. "When I look back on the last ten years…I don't know, it all feels like it was a really weird dream…nightmare, whatever. It doesn't completely feel real to me, is what I mean. Wearing the Coat keeps it real; makes it so I can't pretend it didn't happen." He grinned, and added, "On a practical note, it makes it safe-ish for me to use the corridors of darkness if I have to make a hasty getaway."
"You can still use the corridors of darkness?" asked Even, looking up from his notepad. "Have you retained your pyrokinesis as well?"
Lea stared at him for a moment. "Uh, yeah…still got these, too," he added, summoning his chakrams.
"Fascinating," said Even, "Do you also possess the same level of power that you did as a Nobody?"
"Pretty much…well, actually, I've gotten stronger since I became a Keyblade wielder, but that goes without saying."
"And you also awoke wearing the Coat," remarked Dilan, "Whereas the rest of us woke up in our old clothes and lost most of our powers."
"I have a hypothesis about that," spoke up Ienzo, who had been hunched over the navigation console and giving Tron calculations to run.
"Of course you do," muttered Lea with an eye-roll.
"Which would be?" asked Even.
"Well, Sora found out that Xemnas had lied to us all; if we hadn't been under the impression that Kingdom Hearts was the only path to regaining our hearts, we would have gradually 'regrown' them anyways. As Axel deviated from the Organization's dogma and developed a strong personal bond with Roxas, I believe that he may have begun developing a heart. This meant that prior to his death, Axel was much closer to becoming a Somebody than any of us had gotten. It should also be noted that while the rest of our Nobodies were destroyed by others, Axel sacrificed himself. One or both of these differences may have been a factor in allowing Lea to retain his abilities."
"Or maybe I'm just that awesome," said Lea, "Ever think about that?"
"It could also be a mental issue," remarked Aeleus, who had just gotten out of the bathroom. "The four of us are all fairly rational in our thoughts; we all believed that it was becoming Nobodies that gave us our powers, and logically we believed that being recompleted would strip us of these powers. Lea, on the other hand, was never a very profound thinker. I wouldn't be surprised if he retained his powers by simply never considering that he could have lost them. Basically, it was an achievement through ignorance."
"I'm not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," said Lea.
"Where are we going to first, Ienzo?" asked Dilan. He had powered up the ship and they were now lifting steadily into the air.
"Well, so far I've only positively identified two worlds; the ones where Marluxia and Larxene were recruited. The question is, which–"
"Marluxia," said Dilan, Aeleus, and Lea simultaneously.
"…well, Enchanted Dominion it is then," said Ienzo, punching the coordinates into the nav-console, "Mr. Tron, take us to Warp."
And once more, the RGG Enterprise Warped away.
A/N: Boom! Shout-out to all my Trekkie homies. Live long and prosper, space-dawgs. (If anyone wants to send me fanart of Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo, and Lea in Starfleet uniforms with their Gummi Enterprise, that'd be sick. Doubly so if it comes in wallpaper-size.)
Shoutout to this story's reviewers: erikfinnvladimir, tuckeyhunger99, sailorsenshi13, and two Guests. Thank you for you encouragement, peeps.
In spite of the whole 'kidnapping' thing, to say nothing of the fact that he was willing to kill Naminé to get Marluxia, I still like to think there's hope that a friendship could blossom between Lea and Kairi. After all, Axel's willingness to kill Naminé was before Roxas and Xion reawakened his feels, and I'm sure Kairi would forgive him for the kidnapping thing after he saved everyone from Xehanort in 3D. She just doesn't strike me as the grudge-holding type. You know, pure heart and all that. Besides, even though he can't remember Xion (Yet. KH III, don't let me down!) I like to think that something of her survives in the depths of his heart, as seems to be the case with Sora, and that Kairi might awaken that part of him. I'm not saying she's a replacement, just that maybe she can touch the part of Lea's heart that still remembers Xion. That's my wishful thinking, anyways. And in case it wasn't obvious, this story does share continuity with my Lea/Kairi oneshot, Rebuilding A Burned Bridge.
My decision to put Marluxia in Enchanted Dominion is based entirely on the one-shot Marluxia/Maleficent fic, Thorns. Look it up, check it out, it won't rock your world or change your life but it's still pretty good. Those who have or are going to read it, though, don't think I'm adopting it as canon. I have a slightly different idea about Marly's backstory, though Maleficent still plays an important role. Also, I'm having a hard time deciding what I want Marly's true name to be. I know, I know, I should have figured it out before I started writing, I'm horrible, believe me, I know. But don't worry, I figured that being the controlling schlemiel he is, Xemnas probably personally recruited all the younger members of the Organization and renamed them before introducing them to the others, just like he did with Roxas, so I'm going to assume that he and Marluxia are the only ones who know his true name, and I came up with a reason for him not to give away his name at first. Which gives me time to poll you, the audience, for suggestions!
My favorite candidates so far are: Lumaria, Arimula, Marulia, and Aluriam. You can vote for one of these, or suggest your own favorite. If one screams out to me, I'll take it. Failing that, I'll take whatever gets the most votes. C'mon guys, contribute to the story! It'll be fun, and you might even get cake!
Feedback, people! It's an author's bread and butter. Thank you for reading, double thank you in advance to anyone who reviews and helps me with my conundrum, and triple thank you to the Internet for letting me share.
So, with this chapter out of the way the story's all set up. Next chapter, we finally get the Plot Train chooga-chooging. (Make sure Selphie doesn't get too close, kay-thanx-bye.)
Author Out.